Insecticidal composition



Patented June 20, 1944 2,351,583 INSEOTICIDAL COMPOSITION Clifford J. Boissonou',

No Drawing.

8 Claims.

This invention relates to new and improved insecticidal compositions and, more particularly, pertains to a new and improved agent for depositing insecticidal material from an aqueous carrier.

A'primary object of this invention is to provide an additive for insecticidal compositions capable of yielding increased deposits of said materials when sprayed on foliage, fruits, or dormant trees. Thus, mineral oils, which have long been used as insecticidal sprays, are usually applied in the form of an emulsion with water. For foliage spraying, they are ordinarily emulsified with 96%-99% of water, and in dormant spraying with as little as 94% of water. The water acts as a carrying agent for the oil and effects a distribution of the oil over the plant. However, the water also carries considerable quantities of the oil from the sprayed object.

It is towards minimizing the carrying oil! of theoil and increasing the deposition thereof from an aqueous carrier that the instant invention is directed. It will be obvious that, with increased depositien of the insecticidal material, savings thereof will be effected and a smaller concentration of oil will be required to obtain lethal dosage." A further object is to provide a depositing agent which will cause the insecticide "to adhere firmly to the fruit or foliage.

The term "insecticidal material" or "suspensoi as used herein will refer to mineral oils either with or without the addition of toxicants. Such toxicants'may comprise pyrethrum, rotonene, derris resins, nicotine, aliphatic thiocyanates, dinitro cresols, dinitro phenols, halogenated hydrocarbons such as chlorinated naphthalenes, cresylic acid, alkyl amines, pine oils, etc.v

We have discovered that when small amounts of certain saturated ketones are added to anaqueous carrying medium containing an insecticidal suspensoid and this mixture sprayed on fruit or foliage, a smooth and. uniform deposit of unusual magnitude of the insecticidal material is obtained. The invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description.

The saturated ketones which are operative for the purposes of our invention are the aliphatic saturated ketones containing from 7 to 12 carbon atoms, the best results being obtained with those ketones having 8 to 11 carbon atoms. The term "aliphatic" as herein used includes the straight-, chain and branched-chain di-alkyl ketones, as well as saturated cyclic ketones having the keto group in the ring and an alkyl side chain attached l 56 Concord, and Wallace J. Yates, Martinez, CaliL, velopment Company, S corporation of Delaware assignors to Shell Dean Francisco, Callt, 2.

Application September 2, 1941, Serial No. 409,159%

to the cyclic group. Thus, for example, operative ketones will comprise ethyl isobutyl ketone, di-npropyl lretone, di-isopropyl ketone, n-propyl isopropyl ketone, di-isobutyl ketone, di-n-butyl ketone, di-amyl ketones, di-tertiary butyl ketones, etc, ethyl cyclopentanone, propyl cyclopentanone, butyl cyclopentanone, di-methyl cyclopentanones, methyl cyclohexanone, ethyl cyclohexanone, propyl cyclohexanones, and butyl cyclohexanones. "7 carbon atoms and t atoms, as well as aromatic ketones, have proven unsatisfactory as depositing agents, usually resulting in an actual lowering of the deposit to less than the deposit of the spray oil without any depositing agent.

The ketones should be free from polarizing groups in the alkyl chains such as double or triple bonds, -OH, -C0Ol-I, 1-CH20H, -CONH2, -NHCONH:, -NHCOCH3,

' CoH4SO3, HSO3, -0503, and NR3,

I depositing agents will range In general, eilective quantities of our ketone from about .01% to 2% by volume of the mineral oil insecticidal material, depending upon the particular ketone chosen. A preferred amount for several ketone depositing agents has beenfound to be about 1%. Although amounts within the aforementioned range are effective, it will be understood that larger and smaller amounts are included within the scope of the invention.

The ketone depositing agents of the instant invention may be utilized with mineral oil insecticidal materials which are emulsified for spray purposes by either mechanical agitation in the spray machine alone or such agitation and the addition of oil-soluble emulsifiers. Such emulsifiers may comprise alkyl sulfonates and sulfates such as petroleum sulfonic acids and their oilsoluble sodium, potassium, or ammonium salts, fatty and naphthenic acid soaps, certain fatty acid.esters of polyhydric alcohols, polymerized animal and vegetable oils, nonionic emulsifiers such as vegetable and animal waxes and tallows.

The ketones may be added to either the oil or water phase; however, for convenience, it is preferable to add the ketones to the oil phase.

The eflectiveness of the ketones as depositing agents was determined under conditions simulating field practice. Spray oils to be tested both with and without the invented depositing agents were emulsified with water in a small field-type spray machine capable of operating at spraying pressures up to 1000 lbs. Numerical evaluation of the spray deposits for the various oils and Saturated ketones of less than hose'oi 12 and more carbon and particularly additives tested was obtained by spraying weighed four-ounce 011 sample bottles, the sides-oi which had been coated. with a thin layer oi beeswax. The bottles were weighed to the nearest milligram on an analytical balance before spraying,

assases and again after spraying, and allowing sufllcient time to elapse so that all water from the spray v had evaporated. The drying was expedited by placing the bottles in a stream of dust-free, dried air. The area of the side of the four-ounce sample bottles averaged close to 150 sq. cm., and, since they were sprayed in sets of 3 for each test, the following equation can be derived:

W 1000 150 3 wherein D is the average deposit in micrograms per square centimeter and W is the total spray residue on three bottles in milligrams.

The ketonic depositing agents tested, as shown in the table below, were tested under the following conditions:

Oil concentration "per cent..- 1.67 Pressure in the spray machine lbs./sq. in. 500 Circulation time in seconds of the insecticidal composition in the spray machine--- '30 Spray nozzle orifice diameter inches Distance spray nozzle to the sample bottle et... 6 Exposureot sample bottles to spray seconds..- 6

I A light medium oil 0168 S. B. U. V. at 100 F., 93- U. R.

Mioro n-ams per square centimeter oi deposit of the test oil divided by the m crograms per uare centimeter oi deposit to the standard gian oil or spray oil thout benefit oi the invented depositing n I Oil concentration percent 1.00.

It will be understood that the insecticidal compositions of .our invention may contain other additives' such as antipenetrants like glyceryl oleate, glyceryl mono-oleate', aluminum naphthenate, cotton seed oil and similar fatty oils, trlethanolamine, etc., spreading agents such as blood albumin and/or with other known depositing agents.

We claim as our invention:

1. An insecticidal composition comprising an emulsiflable mineral oil insecticidal material and a minor portion or a saturated aliphatic ketone having from 7 to 12 carbon atoms, said ketcne being free from polarizing groups in the alkyl chains thereof. I

2. An insecticidal composition comprising an emulsiflable mineral oil insecticidal material and a minor portion of an unsubstituted saturated aliphatic ketone having from 7 to 12 carbon atoms. I

3. An insecticidal composition comprising an emulsiflable mineral oil insecticidal material and a minor portion of a saturated aliphatic ketone having from 8 to 11 carbon atoms, said ketcne being free from polarizing groups in the alkyl chains thereof.

4. An insecticidal composition comprising an emulsifiable mineral oil insecticidal material and from .01% to 2% of 'a saturated aliphatic ketone having from 7 to 12 carbon atoms, said ketone being free from polarizing groups in the alkyl chains thereof.

5. An insecticidal composition comprising an emulsiflable mineral oil insecticidal material and a minor portion of di-isobutyl ketone.

6. An insecticidal composition comprising an emulsiflable mineral oil insecticidal material and a minor portion 01' di-isoamyl ketone.

- '7. An insecticidal composition comprising an,

emulsiflable mineral oil insecticidal material and a minor portion or an alkyl cyclohexanone ketone mixture averaging 9 carbon atoms, said ketone being free from polarizing groups in the allgvl chains thereof.

,8. An insecticidal composition comprising an.

aqueous emulsion of a mineral oil insecticidal material and a. minor portion of a saturated aliphatic ketone having from '7 to 12 carbon atoms, said ketone being free from polarizing groups in the alkyl chains thereof.

1 CLIFFORD J. BOIBSONOU.

, wauncs J. YATES. 

